Egads, Time Flies!

Is it Friday already?

Is it taper time already?

Is it Fall already?

This summer sure has flown by. I can't believe I'm looking at another last, big long run before the marathon. This time: Chicago.

I've been dealing with some slight discomfort and swelling on the outside of my right knee and a bit of pain in the right groin area. It starts aching a bit around 5-6 miles in and sometimes bothers me the next day. Illotial Band anyone? I'm hoping to knock this LR out this weekend and then employ some liberal R.I.C.E treatment for 2 weeks. I suspect I've worn my shoes a bit too long and they aren't giving me the cushioning/support I need. I always start to get various aches and pains when my shoes break down (and I'm tardy in replacing them). I have another set already being broken in for the marathon itself. I'll just slide them into the rotation a week or so early and see if that helps. No biggie.

This weekend, I'm planning a 21 miler. I may need to run without the MP3 as mine is hosed. Curse the new Windows Vista! Every time I need to recharge, Vista starts messing with my MP3 one way or another. I think it may have finally screwed it up beyond repair. I'll be performing an emergency resuscitation procedure on it this evening.

Last night, I knocked off 9.7 miles @ 7:16 pace.

Quickie Book Review:

Finished Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild about confused, adventure seeking Chris McCandless and his two year odyssey living a meager life through the Western United States before his starved body was found in an abandoned bus in Alaska.

You can't help but feel for the young man, a bit misguidedly consumed in a search for a meaningful existence. Like in Into thin Air, Krakauer does a fine job delivering the facts -wrapped in speculation and emotion - in nice bite size, easy to swallow pieces. A very interesting read. Especially if you have a bit of wanderlust lurking in your own heart.

Also, I've removed Team of Rivals from my current reading list. I got a bit into but, frankly, found it extremely dry and bit to detailed. I love history. I love details. However, the 3 non-Lincoln characters examined in the book (Seward, Chase and Bates) were described so similarly that I had a difficult time keeping their identities distinct. It was a bit frustrating. I know the book has won rave reviews but, for me, it didn't spark. Perhaps I'll come back to it one day and really enjoy it. This happened before with Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury. I became so frustrated with the confused, first person narrative of the retarded Compson boy that I set the book aside only to return to it years later, finish it, and immediately place it on my personal Favorite Books list.

Next post: Official 2007 Chicago Marathon goals.

Let's see how this long run goes first!!

Good luck, fellow Chicago runners, knocking out this last LR.

Happy trails.